§ In this drab world of ice and mists, more Niflheim than Midgard, a ray of light smote the heavens yesterday, gladdening our hearts with the shouts of the warriors and the songs of the shieldmaidens. I speak of the trailer for Thor: Ragnarok, of course, with its Tumblr-worthy hammer crushing and hero shearing and helmet lowering, villain Cate Blanchett (so that’s what happens when you take the One Ring) and noble Tessa Thompson. Plus the cure for infertility has been found, by putting Chris Hemsworth, Jeff Goldblum, Idris Elba, Tom Hiddleston AND Mark Ruffalo Hulk in armor in one trailer. Too bad Karl Urban wasn’t in it.

Oh wait he WAS in it! Yep, it’s ovulation city.

I stole that screencap, and the other two, from Jill Pantozzi, who got all the crucial bits. So now when you aren’t playing the Thor Ragnarok trailer over and over again, backwards and forwards, just like Kevin Costner in JFK, you can stare at the screen caps and and make me-mes and think about how for one shining moment, you didn’t hate Marvel anymore.

§ This piece by Drew Friedman on working with presidential adviser Jared Kushner, when Kushner ran the New York Observer and and Friedman was the main cover artist, has gotten wide play because people want to know more about the presidential adviser and because Drew Friedman is lord.

§ Tom Baker at CBR has a list of THE UNDERCLASS: 15 UNDERRATED COMIC BOOK CREATORS TO WATCH IN 2017 and though it is formatted like one of those dreaded slideshows, you can look at the whole thing at the above link. There is not one stinker on the list, although it ranged from folks like Mariko Tamaki, who has won major literary awards, to James Stokoe, who is worshipped by just about every other cartoonist, so I would hardly call them “Underrated” – deserving of more attention maybe?

§ This has nothing to do with comics, but baseball is back and there’s a site called The -30- that interviews sports journalists, and A this Q&A with Adam Rubin, formerly at ESPN, is a really great snapshot of why being a journalist sucks in new and different ways in 2017 than in 1997:

What I’m finding now confirms my suspicions and is pretty depressing for journalism. After losing about 2,500 followers the first couple of days after I announced I was leaving the beat, not only did the number stabilize, but it’s started to climb again as I simply retweet other reporters who actually are in Port St. Lucie. That I can maintain a following simply by sharing information reported by others does not speak positively about the economic model for the business. A modern beat writer needs to excel at print, video and still photography, interact nonstop with folks on social media, be an expert on the subject and basically work nonstop.

CORRECTED§ Also speaking of journalists, since the start of the year, many fine comics writers have been laid off from their jobs, incluing Jill Pantozzi above, and many other who do NOT include Oliver Sava. (Sorry I mistakenly got him confused with a ton of other good folks, btu Sava is freelance at the AV Club and other places as before.) Sava is writing a newsletter for his local comics shop, AlleyCat Comics and it’s a nice preview of the month ahead.

Heidi MacDonald is the founder and editor in chief of The Beat. In the past, she worked for Disney, DC Comics, Fox and Publishers Weekly. She can be heard regularly on the More To Come Podcast. She likes coffee, cats and noble struggle.